Spring air pistol and gun.



L. JEFFRIES. SPRING AIR PISTOL` AND GUN.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12, 1910. 995,146. Patented June 13,1911.

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L. JEPFRIBS. SPRING AIR PISTOL AND GUN.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.12, 1910.

Patented June 13,1911.

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L. JEPPRIES. SPRING AIR PISTOL AND GUN. APPLIoATIoN FILED AUG.12, 1910.

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SPRING AIR PISTOL AND GUN.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.12, 1910.

Patented June 13, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES 1H: nanars Fzrrsns co., wAsmNwoN, n. c

- barrel, which air-way is made through the? solid metal of the said extension. For compressing the spring and coclrng the plunger, the arm is provided with a lever and link rinirnn szrnrns 'PATENT onirica.

LINCOLN JEFFRIES, 0F BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, VASSIGNOR T0 `LINCOLN .IEFFRIES AND COMPANY, LIMITED, OF BIRMINGHAM, 1LNG'i-l'iANI).

SPRING AIR PISTOL 'AND GUN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Ylatente'd YJ une 13, 1'911.

Application yfiled August 12, 1910. Serial No.. 576,854.

To allz whom t may concern:

ing is aspeciication.

This invention relates principally tospring; air pistolsnand has for itsprincipal .objecty to provide a simple, eiiicientI-and compact; air-pistol, which VVhas a solid or rig-idvbarrel and anzimproved or 4simplified .arrangement of the air chainberand cooking mechanism.`

According to the said invention, the frame or body of the `arm-'carries a solid or rigid'. barrel and Van airconopressionend springcylinder is dropped or disposed'below the barrel and'at fai considerable angle to the same, and is housed or contained .within or is arranged to constitute a part of a pistol-type handle or grip; In order to avoid joints or breaks where-iV through air might escape during the dis-. charge,'the body of the arm vis provided with; a solid or jointlessextension of 'the breech which carries the cylinder in rigid relation; to the barrel and also-incloses or surrounds chamber or cylinder, which the upper part thereofiandvthe air-way connection between the said cylinder and the cooking mechanism, the lever element of which is fulcrumed to the rigid frame of the pistol-liandle, and is so arranged that in the normal position it lies close against the said handle or against the back of the cylinder Ypart thereof, under which conditions the said. lever also forms a part of the handlcand is grasped in the` hand when discharging the arm.

Figure l1 of the accompanying drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section of a spring air-pistolconstructed according to my invent10n,and wherein the spring and plunger are arranged within an air-compression cylinder or chamber that is car-r ried in rigidrelation to the xed barrel by. a solideXtensionof the frame which consti tutes .part of va dropped .handle or grip, while-the AcockingV isiperforined by fa Vlever systeinwhich-is also mounted on or carried Y by theYd-epending Vframe of the rigid handle :Be it known that I, LINCOLN Jnrrnins, subjectof the King of Great Britain, resid-g ing eat 121 Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, England, y manufacturer, have invented cer tain new and usefullmprovements in Spring, Air Pistols Vand Guns, of=which the followf :nection between the cylinder and', the barrel.

:or grip. Thisviewshows the several parts :of-.the pistol-in. thepositions whichthey as- -siimev after a discharge and before the cocking operation is commenced. Fig. V2 is a horizontal section taken upon the dotted line Fig. 1, `and showing the air-way or con- .Figa 13 isianother section of Fig. 1, taken supon the dotted line through thehandle :or grip Yandshowing the connection between ithe cooking lever system and the plunger. vFig. 4; is a-further `section taken upon the idotted line :n2 Fig. 1, throughthe ulcrum ofthe cooking lever. Fig.V 5 iis another longitudinal f sectional view Vof the pistol showing the saine inthe-act .of being. cocked i'by the lever system. Fig.` 6 shows thej pistol l`cocked Vand the parts of the -lever system :restored to and securedin their normal posi- 'tions the .arm being ready for discharge. 7 isla plan of the istol, showingthe loading arrangements. Fig. 8 showsvarious views of the principal component parts of ithe pistol, separated'for dis-'assembled from :one another. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal secztional view of an alternative form of pistol in which theloadingis effected through an iopenbreech :end of the barrel, instead of by arotary loadingplug.

The same reference numeralsindicate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

VIn the'pistol represented in these figures the frame or body ofthe arm coinprisesa solid Vbreech portion 17 carrying a rigid 'barrel 18 and a dropped or depending inember or` strap 10 which constitutes a rigid part of the handle or grip` and carries the air-compression cylinder orchamber 13 oi' 4the pistol in rigid or Xed relationship to `the saidbarrel and at a considerable angle thereto, so that the saidcylinder also Constitutes a part ofthe dropped or pistol-type handle. The frame structure also comprises .,avpair of caps or Vshoes 11,12, of'which the upperl one 11 forms a-solid oi" integral eX- `tension of the breech Vportion 17 and sockets over Vand inclosesthe upper part of the cylinder Vwhich is mounted behind Athe said strap 10, while the lower; shoe 12 receives and incloses the bottom end ofthe'said cyl inder. By thisfconstructionthe barrel 18, the breechV portion 17 of the frame-the rearward extension or socket 11 that iIlcloses the top of the dropped cylinder 13, and the depending strap supporting the said cylinder, constitute one integral or rigid element or unit, without any breech-joint or other break wherethrough air might escape and so reduce the efficiency of the pistol.

The solid breech portion 17 of the frame, forward of the cylinder-socket 11, is'provided with an air-way or passage 19 disposed between the inclosed air-chamber end 16 of the cylinder and the breech chamber 20 of the barrel and wherethrough the air displaced by the plunger is conveyed from the cylinder to the said breech chamber on the arm being discharged.

In the particular pistol represented, a rotary loading plug 21 is fitted in the breech part 17 of the frame and is operated by an external button 22, while the breech chamber 20 is made through the said plug, which when in the loading position, presents the said chamber to the loading aperture 23 in the frame but normally positions the said chamber in alinement with the air-passage 19 and the bore 24 of the barrel, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and V6 of the drawings.

The lever system for cocking the arm consists of a main lever 25, which is fulcrumed to the handle of the pistol, and a link 26 which makes the connection between the said lever and the plunger in the cylinder. In

cranked at 27 and is fulcrumed at 28 to the foot of the front strap 10 of the handle, while the main part of the said lever is so formed or arranged that normally, 0r when the arm is ready for firing, it lits closely against the back of the cylinder, so that the said lever becomes, for the time being, a part of the handle of the pistol and is grasped with the other parts 10, 13, when the pistol is held in the hand for discharging. The link 26 is pivoted at one end 29 to the lever, near to the crank portion there` of, while the other end passes through a slot 30 formed along the back of the cylinder 13 and is furnished with a hea'd 31 that engages with a slot 32 in the corresponding side of the plunger; this slot- 32 being of a lengt-h which will permit of the plunger making its discharging movement under the expansion of the spring on the said plunger being disengaged from the sear of the trigger mechanismrafter theV closing of the lever system into the position represented in Figs. 1 and 6. To permit of the lever being closed against the ba'ck of the cylinder, its inner side is channeled or recessed at 33 to form a clearance for the link 26, which may thus also be made to tit against the cylinder back, while its head 31 will lie in the upper end of the plunger slot 32 when the arm is in the cocked condition represented in Fig. 6. Y

A spring catch such as 34, or any other fastening maybe fitted for engaging the upper end of the cocking lever and securing the two elements of the lever system in their normal positions behind the cylinder in the handle, while the frontof the body p'art carries a trigger 35 controlling a spring sear 36 which is pivoted in a slot or clearance 37 in the upper part of the body member 10, the nose of the sear being extended by the sear spring through a hole V38 in the front of the cylinder and being adapted 'to engage automatically with a bent 40 in the plunger during the cocking operation.

With such an arrangement as above described, assuming the arm to be in the cocked condition shown in Fig. 6, on the trigger being pulled, and the releasedplunger being driven upward within the cylinder by the expansion of the spring, the airV displaced from the upper inclosed end of the cylinder is driver through the air-passage 19 in the solid frame of the pistol, and discharges the pellet or the like from breech-chamber in the loading plug. The parts of the arm are then in the positions shown in Fig. 1, and in order to cock the pistol, after the same has been Ire-loaded, the main lever 25 is disengaged from the catch V34 and is swung backwardly and downwardly away 'from the handle, whereupon the link 26 first engages the solid metal 39 at the lower end of the plunger slot and then, as the angular movement of the lever is continued, its motion is transmitted through the link for drawing down the plunger and compressing the spring, until, by the time that the said spring is fully compressed, the bent comes into register with the hole 38 in the cylinder frontand is then engaged by the sear. Then the lever 25 is swung back against the rear of the cylinder while the link 26 is also permitted, by the clearance 33 to lie in a plane parallel, or approximately so, with the ba'ck of the cylinder, and both parts are secured in these positions by the catch or fastening 34. Y

It is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the particular construction illustrated in the drawings for carrying the dropped cylinder in iXed or rigid relationship to a body or frame that carries a rigid barrel, and that the said cylinder may be mounted within, or arranged as a part of, the pistol handle in any other manner so long as joints or breaks between the barrel and cylinder are avoided and the air-way connection is made through asolid part of the frame thaty carries the saidY barrel to serve as a rigid support for the lever cooking mechanism. Further, in lieuV of the rotary loading plug arrangement as represented in Figs. 1 to 8, the alternative construction shown in Fig. 9 may be adopted. In this alternative, the bore of the barrel 18 is continued right through the rame-extension 11 that sockets over the upper end of the cylinder 13 in the handle and its rear end is open to the back of the pistol and constitutes a breech chamber 23 into which the pellet is inserted in loading the pistol. This breech chamber is thus disposed in the part of the frame against which the upper end of the cooking lever 25 abuts and is secured by the catch 34 in the normal or closed position, so that the said lever end serves as the breech closure when the pistol is ready for iiring.

rlhe' air-way connection between the cylinder and the barrel consists of a slot 19, made through the solid metal of the trame and leading into the breech-chamber: the said slot being of a width less than the diameter of the pellet so that the latter will not be likely to drop therethrough in the loading operation, while in order t-o more el'ectually close the breech and also to push the inserted pellet forward along the bore and into a position in which the air driven through the passage or port 19 will impinge against the rear end of the said pellet, the face of the lever, Where it seats against the breech of the frame, is furnished with a peg or stud l-l that is made to engage or socket into the breech on the completion of the inward movement of the lever.

If desired, the spring catch 34 as represented in the figure may be substituted by a spring bolt or other fastening for positively securing the cooking lever in its breech-closing position. Y

Having fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and securel by Letters latent is 1. An airpistol having a depending handle provided with an interiorly-located air-compression chamber communicating at its upper end with the breech chamber, said compression chamber being formed with a longitudinal slot in its back wall; a hollow plunger movable within said compression chamber and provided with an interiorlylocated controlling spring, and with a longi tudinal slot registering with the first-named slot; a cooking lever pivoted to said handle;

and a link pivoted at one end to said lever and having its other end extending through said slots into the interior of said alunger and terminating in a head arranged to engage the lower end of the plunger, for forcing the latter in one direction to compress said spring.

2. An airpistol having a depending handle provided with an interiorly-located air-compression chamber communicating at its upper end with the breech chamber, said compression chamber being formed with a longitudinal slot in its back wall; a hollow plunger movable within said compression chamber and provided with an interiorly-located controlling spring, and with a longitudinal slot registering with the first-named slot; a longitudinally-channeled cocking lever pivoted to said handle and constituting a portion of the same when the pistol is grasped for discharge, and a link pivoted at one end in the channel in said lever and having its other end extending through said slots into the interior of said plunger and terminating in a head arranged to engage the lower end of. the plunger, or forcing the latter in one direction, to compress said spring, said link being adapted to lie in said channel when the pistol is discharged.

3. An airpistol having a depending handle provided with an interiorly-located air-compression chamber communicating at its upper end with the breech chamber; a spring-controlled plunger movable within said compression chamber; a cooking lever pivoted to said handle and having its inner side longitudinally channeled, said lever constituting a part of said handle when the pistolis grasped :tor discharge; and a link pivoted at one end in the channel in said lever and having its other end connected with said plunger, for forcing the latter in one direction to compress its controlling spring, said link being adapted to lie in said channel when the pistol is discharged.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LINCOLN JEFFRIES.

lVitnesses:

HY. SKERRETT, HENRY NORTON SKERRETT.

Copies Vof this patent may be obtained for iive cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner'of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

